


No Violence Can Darken the Heart or Tear it Apart (Take My Hand When You are Scared)

by VeteranKlaus



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bottom Levi, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Gaslighting, Hange is also a teacher, Hurt/Comfort, Levi Owns a Bakery, M/M, Physical Abuse, Slow Burn, Smoking, Smut, The cadets are the students, Top Erwin, Top Ezra, eruri - Freeform, erwin is a teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-13 00:36:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17477960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeteranKlaus/pseuds/VeteranKlaus
Summary: Sina's Bakery was a new little place that had opened up in town - not quite in the heart of the town, just off the streets to be quieter - but it had quickly become Erwin Smith's new favourite place to go eat, often times accompanied by co-worker Hange. The owner of said bakery is a short raven-haired man with possibly the worst case of sailor-mouth Erwin's ever seen - and he works with teenagers - but a personality that draws him in. And if Hange said he had a suspiciously sudden interest in sweet confections and men with earrings and a personality that was the polar opposite of their occupation, then, what can he say?He's become accustomed to seeing Levi almost everyday, even if it's just a quick run by in the morning to grab a drink or something for later, and so he easily notices when things change; when he gets a little more tense, a little more reserved. But everyone has life problems to deal with, but when he sees bruises, Erwin can't just standby anymore.





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick introduction to the story! I hope you enjoy it!

He hardly had five minutes to prepare himself and catch a moment of blessed silence before she came as she always did, every day without fail.

The students had just filed out of his class at the sound of the bell and to him calling out a reminder about the homework they had to finish over the weekend, and the noise the flood of students in the corridor had just died down to pleasant nothingness, minus for the occasional set of hurried footsteps. After the class he had just had, he needed the quietness. If anything, he deserved it.

Hange’s shoes clicked rapidly on the hallway floor, signalling her imminent arrival moments before she burst into her classroom, holding her bag in one hand.

“Erwin!” The brunette greeted entirely too enthusiastically for the end of a school day, and he couldn’t help the sigh that fell from his lips.

“Hange,” he replied, staring up at her impassively.

The woman in question was a science teacher that just so happened to work in the same school as he did, and she had been the first to introduce herself to him and quickly become acquainted with him. It’d been years since he first moved here, and they had only gotten closer. Sometimes Erwin doubted their friendship was worth the trouble he put him through. She was a tall and well-toned woman – she accompanied him to the gym on their regular Saturday morning routine and gave him a good run for his money – with brown hair that always seemed slightly out of place and glasses that enlarged her inquisitive owl-eyes.

“Are you ready?” She asked, but it was more of a push at him to shove the folders on his desk into his awaiting bag.

“I really should stay for a while to finish collecting and marking some papers…” The blonde man drawled, a hefty stack of lined paper held between his hands.

“Ah, nonsense! You do all your work on a Saturday evening! Now come on, let’s get out of here.” She made her way to his desk, nails scraping the surface in a way that made him cringe as she gathered the folders on his desk and roughly shoved them into his leather bag. She snatched the paper in his hand and did the same with that, and then zipped the bag up and dropped it onto his lap.

“So much for care,” he commented, and she just responded with a signature grin. “Fine,” he relented. Standing up he snatched his coat from the back of his desk chair and pulled his arms through it, and then he grabbed his phone from the desk and his bag. Hange had taken a few paces closer to the door, and together the two began walking down the near-empty hallways until they exited the large school building.

It was only a ten or fifteen minute walk into town, and it was an a nice walk through a park, especially when the weather was nice. The end of Summer was nearing, leaves slowly beginning to turn into a collage of browns, reds and yellows before coating the floor. The air was warm and there was only a slight breeze that blew through his combed hair and relieved them of the heat in the air.

The park was pretty full of people at this time – children out of school enjoying the good weather outside and playing with their friends, teenagers loitering in groups and taken up space on the climbing frame, parents running after children and couples wandering with a drink in one hand and the other tangled together. Next to him, Hange was a non-stop chatter box, babbling on to him about her classes. She had rearranged a seating plan in one of her classes to sit people next to those she had overheard that had crushes on another person, or dated someone else.

Erwin rolled his eyes, looking down at the woman. “Are you sure you’re not prying into your students lives a little too much?” He queried, and she scoffed, waving a hand dismissively.

“If they didn’t want me hearing it,” she defended, “they wouldn’t say it so loudly in my class! It’s my right to know what’s going on in my class, and if my students are alright. If anything, I’m protecting them from sitting them next to their tormentors!”

“You know the protocol for bullying, Hange, and none of that comes into it,” Erwin said, but Hange jumped to counter it.

“Actually,” she began, “a seating plan is part of the protocol, I’ll have you know. So they can’t, y’know, sit next to someone they bully.”

“And basing that seating plan around teenage romance isn’t,” Erwin replied, and Hange hummed.

“Well, I’ve done it now, and all the students seem much happier. I’m just sayin’.”

“And what will you do if they get crushes on other people? They are, as you know, teenagers.”

Hange shrugged. “Then I’ll just change the seating plan again,” she said easily, and Erwin snorted.

They came out of the park and onto the busy streets that got more crowded the closer to the shopping centre they were.

The two of them had a regular little café they frequented almost every day, just outside of the large shopping centre. It was a nice place, often frequented by people tapping away at their keyboards of ridiculously small laptops, their day of work not quite finished yet, or teenagers discussing books and classes. It had been there for years, and it was a reliable little place that they had been going to for quite some time, and Erwin knew he could rely on for its perfect coffee and pastries.

Too caught up in conversation with Hange, neither of them noticed that the lights were out in the building as they got closer. In fact, the sign outside had been taken down, and the furniture inside was almost all gone.

“Closed?” Hange read from the paper on the inside of the glass door, her voice raising a few octives in disbelief. “You can’t be serious!” She cried, turning around to face Erwin with a look of utter anguish and despair on her face.

“With no warning, Erwin. Where are we supposed to go now? No chocolate éclair is as good as the ones that were made in there,” she stated stubbornly, and Erwin pressed his lips together thoughtfully.

“I mean, there’s plenty of other cafés and bakeries in this area,” he said, “but, I remember Mike told me about one that had just opened up a week or so ago. Said we’d really like it. We could try there?” He offered, and Hange looked slightly disappointed at how quickly Erwin replaced their usual hang-out spot, but she nodded, seeming to trust Mike’s word. Mike was a rather picky eater, so if he said a place was good, then the place was good.

“Fine, fine. Let’s find it,” Hange replied, throwing a hand in some vague gesture that Erwin roughly translated to ‘lead the way’.

He did so, turning back the way they’d came and picking Mike’s directions out from his mind. Down the street, passed Maria’s bookshop, and down a slight side street that had a very nice art shop owned by one of his own students parents. And then, there.

It was obviously just opened recently, still very clean and fresh, everything in its best, new condition. The green sign above it read, simply, ‘Sina’s’, and through the clean windows Erwin could already see that it looked rather nice.

It wasn’t a huge building, but there were plenty of tables and seats placed around, with the counter and display cases in the back, with a door leading to what he assumed would be the kitchen. The light came from string lights neatly hanging along the ceiling in drooping lines, or candles in jars placed on each table and on shelves. The place was very earthy, the back walls all exposed white brick, and the tables and chairs were brown. The walls were decorated with paintings, and on the wall behind the counter was green boards that held the menu in clear, neat writing and in different languages; English, French, and what Erwin assumed was Japanese.

There was a chime above the door that sounded when they walked in, and immediately they were hit with warm air and the smell of freshly bakes pastries and coffee that made Hange gasp.

There weren’t many people inside; a handful of people sitting at tables with intricate looking teacups and dishes, and even a couple of students that Erwin recognised.

Seemingly summoned by the door chime, the one behind the counter opened and a short raven haired man came out, trailing flour and wiping it off his hands with a towel that he set somewhere under the counter. His appearance seemed the polar opposite to the light, earthy bakery. Dark hair and bagged, cold eyes, dangling earrings and studs along the shell of his ear and, from under his rolled-up sleeves, was an intricate green tattoo that ended at his fingertips and much resembled henna, in Erwin’s opinion.

The man raised an eyebrow at the two standing in the doorway.

“You’ll let all the heat out with that door open,” he stated, urging them to walk forwards and let the door gently swing closed with another gentle clash of the door chime. “Can I help you with anything?” He asked, and Hange’s eyes were glued to the menu above his head. She seemed to have quickly lost her anger towards him at being so ready to ditch their previous spot.

“What do you recommend?” Erwin asked, and it seemed to be a good thing as the mans lips twitched upwards.

“I have a fresh batch of chocolate eclairs just made, or peach cookies with dulche de leche filling. Both are, if I may say, very good,” he said, seeming rather proud of his own work, and Erwin tipped his head.

“We’ll have both,” he said with a smile, “and two coffees, please,” he added after a quick glance to the menu. The man nodded, and Erwin caught his nametag on his chest, in neat writing it said ‘Levi’.

“Go sit. I’ll bring it out in a minute,” the baker said, and Hange grinned at him and said a grateful thank you, before dragging Erwin off to a table near a window.

“Okay, this is kind of nice,” Hange commented. Her bag hit the ground with a thump and she put her coat on the back of her chair at the same time as Erwin did, and then she slumped into the seat and stretched her legs out underneath the table.

“At least we can agree on our mutual trust of Mike’s preferences,” he replied, and to that Hange nodded and hummed. Her eyes, large behind her prescription glasses, were looking at the flower in the centre of the table, her fingertips running over its stem.

“Kinmokusei.” Two small plates – blue, with gold-orange designs on them – were set in front of Erwin and Hange. On each was a chocolate éclair, and Erwin could just see the cream from the inside poking out, with a rich chocolate scent wafting into his nose, and it was accompanied by two small pastries, drizzled in sugar, that resembled tiny peaches with some filling holding the two halves together. The plate was slightly warm, maintaining the heat of the pastries freshly cooked, and then a dark blue napkin was placed next to each plate

“They originate in Japan,” Levi continued, watching his own hand steadily lift one dish holding a steaming cup of coffee and set it in front of Hange. He turned the handle to her right side, and then moved on and took the second cup of coffee and placed it in front of Erwin, doing the same with the handle.

“I thought they looked rather exotic,” Hange commented, turning her eyes up to Levi, who hummed in acknowledgement and held his tray by his side.

“I wasn’t aware they could survive out here,” she added, and Levi eyed her hand.

“They won’t if you keep touching them,” he said, only half-jokingly, but Hange withdrew her hand with an apologetic grin, “and I grew up in Japan. My mother had a large flower garden, so I know how to properly care for them.”

“A skilled cook and a gardener,” she said, and Levi raised an eyebrow.

“You can tell me that after you’ve eaten,” he said, and then looked over the two briefly. “Right here after work?”

“A friend recommended the place,” Erwin told him, and upon the mans questioning look, he continued, “Mike Zacharias. Huge man, blonde, looks like an athlete with a supreme sense of smell.” Recognition dawned in Levi’s eyes, and Erwin considered the picture of them meeting. It was probably quite humorous; two men that look completely out of place in this earthy bakery. “He told us that this place was good, and our regular place shut down so we ought to give it a try. Work just let out now,” he shrugged, and Levi bowed his head in a slight nod.

“Let me guess… Teachers?” He raised an eyebrow, and Erwin chuckled softly.

“You’d be right,” he confirmed, and then gestured around the bakery. “And this is all yours?”

“I used to have a bigger bakery in a city a few hours away, before I moved here. But this building is the one I liked most.”

“You’d think you’d want one right on the mainstreet, or even in the shopping centre,” Erwin mused, and Levi scoffed.

“Gods, no. Then you get flooded with twelve year olds thinking it’s the next Starbucks, and then they bring their friends, and I simply couldn’t,” he said, and turned to look at the students that were here.

“No offense. You lot are alright,” he said, and the teenagers chuckled softly.

“You moved?” Erwin then said, and Levi raised an eyebrow.

“You’re awfully talkative for someone I don’t know,” he commented, and Hange grinned.

“It’s his speciality. You can’t escape it. He’ll come here every day until he knows your entire life story before you realise you’ve even told him anything.”

Levi snorted at that, but the idea seemed to make the smaller man slightly uncomfortable. Erwin hoped it wasn’t because of the idea of him frequenting this bakery daily.

“I moved a couple of weeks ago. My boyfriend got a work opportunity here, so we took it up. If you want to make me a happy man, you can tell all of your students that his band is amazing and they need to go see him.” His hand dipped into the back pocket of his jeans and fished out a small card, and he dropped it on the middle of the table. The card had a well-taken photograph of a band, obviously, that faded out and held all their information on the back and at the top.

“Are they amazing?” He joked, and Levi rolled his eyes but had a small smirk.

“Well, I wouldn’t be a very good boyfriend if I said no, now, would I?” He responded, but then he took a step back. “I’ll leave you be, now. If you don’t like the food, then I’ll give you a refund.”

In the end, they didn’t end up getting that refund, and Erwin didn’t really mind.

The food and the coffee was amazing, all of it had a slight hint of _something_ that made it unique to Levi’s own baking but pulled all of the flavour together, and he knew that they’d just found their new regular spot. Hange even bought an extra éclair to take home in a cute little green bag, and Levi waved them goodbye before getting busy with cleaning down their table. He wasn’t the kind of person Erwin would have expected to own such a nice little bakery, but the way his appearance and personality clashed with that of his bakery intrigued Erwin.

“Lunch there tomorrow after the gym?” Hange asked, evidently having a hard time from refraining herself from digging into the éclair in the bag clutched between her fingers.

Erwin raised his eyebrows.

“Of course,” he nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this, feel free to leave a kudos or a comment! I appreciated any and all feedback and love hearing what you thought!


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a quick workout, Hange and Erwin head back to the bakery and properly introduce themselves to Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this part!

The horrific blaring of his alarm clock shattered his dreams and yanked Erwin into wakefulness.

With great effort, the man hauled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes, trying his hardest to block the deafening wail of his alarm clock to his right, continuously bombarding his ears.

Eventually, though, he could ignore it no longer and he crawled to that side of his large bed and slapped around on his bedside table until it hit the devilish alarm clock and silenced it. As soon as its ear-grating cries died down, relief unlike any he’d felt washed over him. The silence that followed was blissful, and he was tempted to just fall back into his bed and sleep in, but he had to meet Hange at the gym in an hour.

He dragged himself out of bed, grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt, and heaved himself through his apartment and to his kitchen, where he eagerly began to brew a much needed cup of coffee to help him keep his eyes open. The bitter smell of the drink stung his nose, and after the first few sips he began to feel better. He sat the mug off to the side in favour of grabbing a couple of eggs. He dropped two pieces of bread into his toaster and let them toast as he made the scrambled eggs. When all was done, he took the plate of toast and scrambled eggs and coffee and sat on one of the barstools by the island in his kitchen, and tiredly dug into his breakfast, the clink of the fork scraping against the plate echoing in otherwise quiet kitchen.

His phone vibrated in his pockets, and when he pulled it out it was, expectedly, a message from Hange.

_Hey, Smith, hope you’re awake ‘cause I’m not pouring water over you to wake you up again!_

He rolled his eyes at the text, drinking the last of his coffee and replying one-handed.

_I’m more awake than you are. I’ll see you in twenty_

It showed that she had read the message so Erwin turned off his phone and slid it into his pocket, rising to his feet and stuffing the dishes into the his dishwasher. He spared a couple of minutes to quickly brush and floss his teeth before shoving a pair of trainers on, grabbing his fitbit and fitting it onto his wrist, and pulling his coat on and grabbing his bag with a change of clothes and a water bottle, and left his house.

It was a slightly chilly morning today, a cold that dusted his nose and the tips of his ears red as he made his way down the street. The gym he and Hange frequented was only ten or fifteen minutes away from his apartment, and the walk always refreshed him and woke him up, got him ready for a good workout. Hange was always rather competitive; she loved to push Erwin, and even if she was dripping with sweat and panting like a dog she’d still be grinning and taunting Erwin for taking a water break.

He arrived at the gym and checked in with his membership before making it down to the male changing rooms to put his bag and coat away in a locker.

The gym was a very nice place that he was happy to have found; it was a rather large building with a large pool next to one specifically for kids, and it had a well-organised swim-lesson schedule that often worked well for himself when he wanted to use the pool without the bother of kids or teenagers splashing in and yelling around in the water. There was a couple of saunas and a small café with a soft-play area for kids, and the gym itself had multiple different rooms for its’ equipment. There was one smaller room with a few easier to use machines and less physically imposing and with a large space for personal use – yoga, stretches, etc – and that was usually only for beginners or people younger than seventeen.

There was a room full of exercise bikes for those class, and then the biggest, main room full of different kinds of equipment set up, and a watercooler that had surprisingly good water in it – better than a lot of bottled water, and Erwin could tell the difference.

The gym held a special place in Erwin’s heart for its high quality, and it had encouraged him to exercise more since he enjoyed going.

Hange was standing by the watercooler, filling her own bottle up, and when she noticed him walker over she grinned and waved at him.

“Erwin,” she greeted enthusiastically, twisting the lid on her water bottle and standing up. “Ready to get your ass beat again?” She teased, and Erwin took a steadying breath. And thus began the hour of her teasing and challenges.

She guided him through a warmup she had come up with at home, and then they began to move around the room. On the treadmills Hange would dangerously lean over her own to reach his and spam the incline button until he was running up an incline steep enough it made his knees burn, but she balanced it out by doing the same with hers until they needed to take a water break.

Cool water, with a hint of lemon from the slice floating in his water bottle, ran down his throat blessedly, and he gulped it down greedily as if he had never drank before, or as if it was his first week at university once more. Only, the water didn’t leave a bitter aftertaste in his mouth and sent his head spinning, knees shaking and words flying out of his mouth before he could even understand he was speaking. Beside him, Hange did the same, swallowing down half-her bottle in seconds. Then, after their chests no longer heaved like panting dogs after being let off their leash nearby a flock of birds, they started again.

Weights, this time. Erwin’s fingers drummed along the sturdy bar between the weights before curling around it and lifting it off its stand, before curling his arm and bringing it up to his chest. Hange was a couple of feet from him, sitting with her well-toned thighs under a cushioned bar as she reached up above her head to pull down a bar connected to a set of weights.

“Say, Erwin,” she said, followed by a small noise as her hand slipped slightly and her upper body lifted with the bar before she fixed her grip on it. “Have you heard from Dot lately?” She asked curiously, and that made Erwin’s eyebrows raise slightly with curiosity.

“Not really,” he admitted with a shrug, eyes watching the weights he lifted, “after he moved, no. I see him posting pictures on Facebook, though. Always at parties or with kids. A surprising mix, but if anyone could balance the two, it’s Pyxis,” he stated with a soft shrug, and Hange smiled in agreement, her head tipping into a nod.

“He’s a skilled man,” she said, and Erwin snorted.

“Skilled with alcohol is what I’d say,” he replied, and Hange laughed softly.

“Don’t try to act so innocent, Erwin. You were a young, reckless student once, I’m sure you’ve gotten liver failure at least twice drinking your friends under the table. If not, then boy do I have a good weekend planned for us.” Her grin was nothing but mischievous, and Erwin snorted.

“I could have been a raging alcoholic and you still would have been worse than me,” he countered, and Hange puffed her cheeks out and stuck out her tongue.

“I’ll challenge you to that tomorrow,” she offered, and Erwin rolled his eyes.

“So tempting,” he said, tipping his head to the side, “might have to pass though.”

“You’re so boring!” Hange declared, and she leaned back to put the weights up one more level and focusing on another set.

“We do actually have, you know, work to be doing over the weekend,” he said, raising an eyebrow, and Hange shrugged half-heartedly.

“Eh, my students know I have my priorities straight, and they aren’t the highest on the list,” she joked, and Erwin scoffed lightly.

They lapsed into silence, only broken occasionally by a soft comment or water rushing back into a water bottle and filling it up.

Erwin kept an eye on the clock as they rotated around the room, and eventually, their time ran out and Erwin took a last swig of his water and parted ways with a sweaty, gross Hange, whom tried to wrap her sweaty body around him in a ‘congratulatory hug’ for completing their work out, which he narrowly avoided by closing the mens changing room door between them.

He showered and changed into his clean clothes and met Hange in the lobby again. Her hair was slightly wet and thrown up into her signature messy pony tail, and she grinned brightly at Erwin as he walked over to her.

“Food?” She asked hopefully, and Erwin’s stomach turned eagerly.

“Food.” He nodded in agreement, and the two walked outside of the gym and onto the streets full of people out jogging, or clutching onto coffee like they depended on it to function at this still-early time in the morning.

It was a nice morning, only a few clouds in the sky, a nice morning breeze and the sun high and bright in the sky and shining down on the streets. They wound their way through the streets until reaching a familiar place and, upon finding it actually open at this time, Erwin led the way inside the little bakery. No one else was in there yet, and the door behind the counter was open, letting the smell of fresh dough and freshly baked pastries drift to their nose.

Hange breathed in deeply and sighed in content, leaning against a table.

“God, this place is like Heaven,” she muttered, and Erwin let his eyes roam over the large menu, considering the wide variety of options available.

A few moments later and a small raven-haired man scurried out of the door behind the counter. Flour coated his apron and he was busy wiping it off his hands with a soft towel. It trailed behind him, dusting the floor lightly. He set it aside, familiarity in his eyes as he looked at them.

“Good morning,” he greeted, leaning forwards on the counter. He raised a thin eyebrow at them. “How can I help you? Some things might be a few minutes if you want it fresh, some are just finishing setting just now.” He explained. Hange pursed her lips, looking at the menu thoughtfully, but Erwin couldn’t quite peel his eyes off of Levi just yet.

He looked tired. Bags under his eyes more prominent than they had been yesterday, and despite the good weather forecast for today, he was in a long sleeved sweater that would surely become uncomfortable in a couple of hours when it began to get hotter, never mind working with ovens all day.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Levi’s voice, joking yet with an undertone of irritation, snapped Erwin out of his thoughts. His cheeks heated up slowly, growing rosy, and he looked to the menu above his head.

“Sorry,” he murmured sheepishly, “can I have a coffee and a croissant?” He asked after coughing to clear his throat. Levi flashed him a smile and nodded, and Erwin relaxed slightly. Hange had, apparently, ordered while he had been indiscreetly staring at Levi.

“Sit,” the raven said, waving vaguely at the tables behind them, “I’ll be a moment.” With that, he ducked back into the hot kitchens, and soon the sound of whistling expresso machines echoed in the back, gentle clicks of cutlery and dishes being moved around like gentle taps on a xylophone.

Erwin took a seat at the same table by the window he and Hange had sat at yesterday.

“You know, I was serious about going out for a night,” Hange commented. Her eyes were trained on her phone, her fingers tapping away at it for a few more moments before she turned it off and set it aside on the table. Erwin raised an eyebrow.

“We haven’t been out in a while, after all, and hey, if Orou manages to get with that girl he’s talking to, well, that’s worth a pint or two in my opinion.”

Erwin snorted softly, stretching his legs out and leaning back in the comfortable chair. “Maybe, maybe, but I don’t think I can handle club hopping all night anymore. How about a nice night in and some wine?”

At that, Hange laughed as if the mere idea of having a quieter night in with a few glasses of wine was stomach-crampingly hilarious. She reached over to grip his forearm, shaking her head. “Oh, Erwin,” she sighed, “you’re funny, you’re a funny guy. Relive your youth for a night! Do shots, drink enough to make you regret your existence, drink everything associated with bad teenage memories,” she encouraged, way too enthusiastically for a Saturday morning.

Erwin ran a hand down his face and shook his head. “That is something I have no intention of doing again,” he stated surely, and Hange pursed her lips out in a pout.

Plates were set in front of them suddenly – he’d never even heard Levi coming, he was always so quiet – and the short man spoke up.

“I’m surprised you aren’t jumping at the offer to get shit-faced, what with you being teachers and all,” he said, and Erwin snorted. Hange grinned.

“Exactly – and that’s a good point. You teach shitty kids that never turn their homework in on time; you’re allowed to drink. Hey, Levi, you should come with us!” She blurted out, and Levi’s hand faltered slightly as he brought down her cup of coffee.

“I don’t even know your name,” he stated, and Erwin was curious to see his cheeks get dusted with a soft rosy pink.

“Oh,” Hange hesitated, and then offered a hand out to the baker, “Hange Zoe!” She introduced, and Levi eyed the hand before moving on to giving Erwin his coffee, turning the handle towards his right hand.

“Don’t tell me you don’t drink either,” Hange pouted, “but like, also, no hate if you don’t, no offense.” She hurried to fix any offense she might have caused, and Levi snorted softly at that.

“I drink sometimes,” Levi shrugged, “my boyfriend isn’t a huge fan of alcohol. We save it for special occasions.”

Hange deflated, pursing her lips out. “Well, this is a special occasion! Hey, bring your man along too, it could be a great night!” She joked. “Erwin here needs to loosen up for a night.”

Levi shifted awkwardly, his cheeks warm at that. “I – no, we couldn’t –“

Erwin groaned, rolling his eyes. “You’re way too enthusiastic to get drunk, Hange,” he commented, and Hange just grinned. Levi seemed grateful for Erwin’s interruption.

“I need to feel my youth,” she replied, and she turned to look at Levi. She nudged the third chair at one side of the table out slightly, looking pointedly at it. “Why don’t you take a seat?” She offered, and Levi raised his eyebrows.

“I’m literally at work,” he stated. He tucked the tray he’d used to carry their food and drinks through under his arm, into his side, and he glanced back over his shoulder and towards the kitchen.

“I’m sure you can spare a minute until the next customer comes through – hey, what about those flowers at that table? Are they Japanese too?” She questioned, trying to lure him into a conversation.

With a defeated sigh, the raven slid into the seat and Hange grinned victoriously.

“Kiku,” he stated, “yes, also Japanese. The majority of the flowers here are,” he confirmed, and Hange ‘awed’ at that.

“They’re so pretty. Oh, Erwin, do you think we could get some for the school gardens?” She asks in a thoughtful tone.

“Good luck with that,” Levi comments, “it’s hard enough to get them here. Harder to keep them. Even worse with teenagers around. What school do you teach at?” He asked curiously.

“Shiganshina Academy,” Erwin replied, and Levi hummed, nodding his head.

“That’s that fancy private school, right?” He said, and Erwin’s lips twitched upwards slightly.

“You could say that,” he nodded.

“That place is whack,” Levi snorted, “it’s literally two mansions put together with its own gym and ‘gardens’. I couldn’t imagine working in a place like that.” He shook his head, waving the idea off completely.

“I get the feeling you wouldn’t be horrific with kids, though,” Erwin commented, and Levi’s eyes widened. He scoffed, repeating his head shake.

“God no,” he replied, “I’m hardly responsible for myself, let alone some hormonal, rebelling kids.”

Erwin shrugged. “Who knows,” he mused, and Levi gave him a sceptical look.

Much to Erwin’s pleasure, they drifted from the topic of alcohol. They spoke a bit about their teaching, Levi curious about what it was like to work in such a large building, with so many reckless teenagers running amuck. Erwin reassured him that, in fact, not all teenagers were hormonal, dysfunctional apes, even if a lot of them spoke so much slang Erwin sometimes wondered if they were speaking a different language.

“What even is a ‘dab’?” He questioned, almost exasperated. “Or ‘lit’? I got called ‘lit’ the other day. I still don’t know what that means.”

Hange, unsurprisingly, knew, yet refused to share her knowledge of the youth’s culture with them.

“Only god knows,” Levi stated, “and only he can judge them for their horrific terms and slang. But you seem like the kind of man to be lit, so, maybe you should do some internet surfing and educate yourself, old man.”

Erwin scoffed, feigning hurt for a moment. “And you’re so young and hip?” He questioned, and Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Of course. Do I look old?”

At that, Erwin glanced the man up and down and decided that, no, Levi really did not look old at all. “Well, how old are you anyway?” He queried, and Levi folded his arms loosely across his chest.

“Younger than you. Twenty-six. Do I not look it?”

Erwin hummed nonchalantly, shrugging. “I would have said sixteen, but, close enough.”

Levi was youthful; his small frame and height didn’t help him much, and he had a case of baby face that people his age would envy. The only hint to him not being a minor was the dark bags under his eyes and the tattoos – or, singular tattoo, he’d only seen one. He wondered if the rest of him, hidden underneath his jeans and jumper, was covered in intricate tattoos, or if it was milky pale, smooth skin. Then he realised he was being a bit of a creep and he tuned back into the conversation.

Hange jumped in with some topic of her own, and they were in mid-debate when a series of pings broke through their chatter. Levi’s cheeks flushed and he muttered an apology, leaning away from them and pulling his phone out. His eyes scanned whatever messages or notifications he received, and his lips twitched upwards into one of the ravens rare smiles as he tapped back.

“Oh,” Hange grinned, leaning forwards on the table, “is this your mysterious man?” She questioned, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously.

Levi looked up from his phone to deadpan the science teacher until she awkwardly shifted, but pressed further with a prying look.

“Yes,” Levi replied nonchalantly, “it is.”

“Feel free to share your spicy texts,” she offered, and Levi’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

“You’re a pervert,” he said, and Hange pouted dramatically.

He put his phone away after replying and nothing else was said about him or his partner, and their previous conversation continued until another set of customers came through the door and Levi left them to serve the new customers. Erwin drained his coffee and stacked their dishes. At the door, the raven waved them bye from the kitchen doorway.

“Have a good day,” Erwin called, opening the door with a gentle jingle from the door chime.

“See you around, Levi! Don’t miss me too much!” Hange said. Levi’s replying expression was all they needed, and then they stepped back out onto the streets, leaving the warmth of the bakery behind.

“Keep your evening open,” Hange told him, “we’re seeing if the squad is free tonight.”

Erwin sighed at the woman, but nodded. He supposed a drink or two with his friends wasn’t a horrible idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm debating on making these parts longer - they're usually around 2-6k words min/max, but I'm wondering if I should release longer parts - around 10k words maybe? - but less frequently. Unless shorter, more frequent parts are preferred, anyway. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments! I hope you enjoyed this part!


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin goes to Hange's for the night and Petra makes some comment that makes Erwin consider the idea of love and relationships that he's missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Erwin went home shortly after leaving the bakery with Hange, his body both pleasantly aching and energised. With Hange’s words ringing in the shell of his ear about keeping his evening free, he headed home to use his burst of energy to make a start, and hopefully a finish on his students’ papers.

He knew, as he sat at home by his desk in front of a large window, that English as a subject was not everyones strong point. He understood that very well – some people excelled in English and writing, some people excelled in maths, science, art, woodwork – whatever – but sometimes, he thought that a lot of students just didn’t put any effort in whatsoever. Either they’d completely given up trying to raise their grades, or they simply couldn’t care less about English.

The least they could do, he thought, if they didn’t understand the work was to come see him at lunch or during registration. Or, at the very least, not write some horrible inside joke and hope he wouldn’t notice.

With a heavy expression, Erwin dragged a hand down his face and sighed, putting a large red ‘X’ next to the last paragraph and writing, as politely as he can, how what the teenager had written was _not_ funny, and to come see him if they were so confused about how to structure the essays. Or what to write. At all.

He pushed that essay aside, and then began marking another one. Armin’s, easily recognisable from his incredible writing if not his name signed in the top corner. Armin was easily one of his best students in class, with straight A’s and an eagerness to learn that revived Erwin’s hope for future generations, and reading his work was always a pleasure. He hardly had anything to correct, a couple of mistakes here and there, some advice, and he was sincere in the encouraging compliment he left for him, before moving onto the next one.

He probably marked about half of the stack of essays when his phone, first buzzing with notifications, and then loudly ringing, forced him away from his work. He didn’t bother to look at the caller ID, a strong suspicion of who it was already sure in his head, and he answered with a casual; “hello.”

“Erwin!” He was right. “I hope you kept your evening free!” Of course it was Hange.

“Other than grading everyone’s essays, y’know, I did keep it free.” He put a reluctant tone to his voice as he spoke, a soft sigh at the end, yet Hange responded with an excited squeak.

“Good, good! Everyone else said they’re down – you would know if you cared enough to look at the group chat – so come over, like, six-ish, yeah?”

Erwin hummed thoughtfully, the scrape of his pen quiet as he finished marking one more essay and adding it to the completed pile to his side.

“I guess so,” he relented, much to Hange’s evident pleasure.

“Awesome! I’ll see you there, my man.”

“See you then, Hange.”

He hung up the phone and set it aside, but not before checking the time. It was only three, so he put his head down and carried on with his marking until the pile was finished. He slid the graded papers back into his bag and pulled the pile for his other class out, setting them on the desk, and decided to get changed for Hange’s as the time to leave approached him quickly.

It was a casual thing, so he dressed for such an occasion. Some slightly nicer jeans and a not too-cheap shirt and a jacket. With time to spare, he left his apartment and gave a quick visit to the liquor store on the street and took his time picking out two bottles of wine he was familiar with and enjoyed. His mind flicked back to Hange’s words at the bakery, though, and he decided that just in case this was planned to be a little… more than he was used to, he swapped out a bottle of wine for one of vodka, and the an extra, smaller bottle of desperados.

The drive to Hange’s was twenty minutes from his and he arrived just slightly after six, yet he could already hear chatter from where he stood outside the door. He rolled his knuckles along the door until it swung open, and a Hange with a slightly pink face and a bottle of cider in her hand greeted him.

“Erwin!” She yelled, and she reached out, snagged his arm, and pulled him out without any room for resistance. The door thudded closed behind them, and he was sucked into the room of cigarette smoke and music playing from a YouTube playlist on her television. Petra, Orou and Gunther were pouring their drinks in the kitchen, while Mike was standing by an open window with a cigarette and Moblit was on a seat, talking to him. They all turned their attention to Erwin to smile and wave, and Hange stole the bag full of alcohol he carried and took it away to the kitchen.

“Sit, sit; Gunther, pour the man a drink.”

That was the start of the night. Gunther handed him a cup of something – presumably his vodka watered down with something else, or, also knowing his friends, mixed with some other alcohol. He shared a cigarette with Mike, and couldn’t refuse Hange’s relenting force to get him to do some horrific shuffle-dance and twirl her under his arm as if they were teenagers during school dance.

“So, Orou,” Hange said at one point during the night, her legs draped over Moblit’s lap. “How’s you and that girl – what’s her name? How’s that going?”

Orou, sitting next to Erwin, rolled his eyes.

“We’re going out tomorrow,” he informed, lifting his head slightly, “I’m taking her out for a nice dinner, of course.”

“Of course,” Petra repeated, and Erwin snorted.

“And so you’re here, getting drunk and, inevitably, hungover?” Hange questioned.

“The only drunk here is you, idiot,” Orou scoffed, and Hange responded with the flick of her middle finger. As if trying to make a point, she reached for her cup on the coffee table in front of her and took a healthy swig. A small drop ran down her chin.

Hange was a lightweight. The fact had shocked Erwin at first; her party attitude and recklessness gave him the idea that she would handle her liquor somewhat well. Evidently, it wasn’t the case, though he would give her credit where credit was due – she was only beginning to get properly drunk, and everyone else was catching up. Usually, it’d be half way through the night and she was either blacked out or sobering up when they were more than tipsy. He could feel himself buzzing, his movements getting more uncoordinated, the room swaying a bit and his tongue loosening. Deciding that coming to Hange’s with more alcohol wasn’t actually a bad idea, he refilled his cup and went through it quickly.

Orou boasted about the progressive he was making with his date, and Moblit fussed over a messy Hange, his feelings for her more evident the more both of them drank. Petra, like always, ended up fussing over any spillages that happened and insisted on trying to keep the place clean and handing out water, and Mike was probably still completely sober until Hange shoved shots into his hands with a grin, before whisking herself away, Moblit on her heels.

It was a good night. Erwin tried to not get drunk much, but he admitted it was nice to let it go for a night with his friends and forget about work or bills or the woes of adulthood, and just have fun. Toss care for his lungs and liver to the wind.

“You deserve a nice person,” Petra told him, “everyone else is either already married or on the way there and you – you’re awesome, Erwin. You deserve a nice person. Have you seen anyone?”

He laughed softly at that, shaking his head. “No, I’ve not put myself out there or whatever,” he shrugged, and the petite woman pursed her lips in a pout. Her hand gently slapped his shoulder, and she looked genuinely sad for him.

“Look – we can go to a bar. Next weekend, or Friday night? I’ll be your wingman. You can find a cutie that you deserve, okay?”

She was tired, crashing slowly, and Erwin smiled at the woman. “Alright, Petra. Let’s do it,” he chuckled, and she smiled and nodded.

“Good,” she said approvingly, and heaved herself to her feet. She reached for a cup – probably not even hers – and Erwin pushed her hand away from it.

“You’ve had enough tonight. Everyone’s crashing, go wash your face and rest,” he told her, and she stared back at him for a moment before rubbing her eyes and nodding.

“Thanks, Erwin,” she murmured, “you’re a good man,” she said, patting his arm and swaying her way along to Hange’s bathroom.

Speaking of Hange, the brunette was snoring in the horrific beanbag in the corner of the living room. Moblit was on a nearby seat, looking exhausted and worn thin, but content. Gunther and Orou were nowhere to be seen – probably being responsible and sleeping in the guest beds Hange had – and Mike was turning off the TV still playing now-terrible music. He looked back at Erwin, hair a mess and cheeks flushed, and tipped his head in a nod. The man, being the giant he was, probably had never even gotten tipsy, though his cheeks were warm and he bumped into things on his way to the long sofa.

“Regrettable night?” Erwin questioned, and the man hummed.

“With you guys? Always. But somehow still not terrible,” he said, and Erwin snorted. He fished out his cigarettes and held one out to Erwin. He’d already had one or two, and decided that a third would fill his monthly share, or whatever, and accepted it, moving to the window and watching the cars drive past on the road far beneath him. Smoke stung his throat and lungs and he breathed it out into the cool air of the night. It burned down to his fingertips and he eventually stamped it out on an ashtray on the coffee table. An armchair became his bed for the night and he slid into it. He could hear Petra shuffling from the bathroom, murmuring goodnights to them all, and Moblit offering her some water while retrieving some for himself. His head drooped into a position that would surely make him regret it in the morning, but he was soon asleep, body giving in quickly.

 

Unsurprisingly, the morning was broken by hungover groans rather than birdsong.

Hange was nursing her head in her kitchen and Moblit looked miserable, dishing out cups of water and painkillers for them all. Orou looked exhausted, falling asleep in the living room and Gunther joined them when he awoke some hour later. Petra and Mike, the lucky ones, were completely fine. Erwin himself wasn’t horrible, a fatigue in his bones making him crave the luxury of his own bed back at his apartment, and he appreciated the water that was slid into his hand by a sympathetic Petra.

“Wasn’t it worth it?” Hange questioned tiredly, and there was a variety of groans, moans and hums in response.

“Shit.” Orou’s first word in the morning as he hurried out of the bathroom, bags under his eyes and using his fingers to comb his hair into place.

“I need to go,” he stated, and Erwin raised an eyebrow.

“Date,” he added, as if it was common knowledge, and there was a resounding scoff from the group.

“I thought you said you were going out for dinner?” Petra queried, and Orou gestured himself up and down.

“And it’s going to take all day to fix this.”

“Might have rethought the offer to get drunk the night prior,” Erwin commented, and Orou huffed.

“I do think of you guys as friends and occasionally enjoy your company for a night.”

Erwin’s lips twitched upwards, but everyone offered a goodbye and good luck to him as he scurried out of the apartment, rubbing his eyes.

Erwin heaved himself to his feet with a yawn, stretching his arms up above his head.

“Well, if I can’t be first, I’ll be second; I should probably get going,” he stated.

“You’re all leaving me?” Hange cried meekly and Moblit’s hand rubbed circles comfortingly on her shoulder.

“A hot shower at home sounds lovely about now,” he admitted, feeling grubby and gross as he rubbed his hands together.

“Ugh, fine. Be gone, whore,” she waved her hand dismissively, and Erwin snorted, rolling his eyes. “Unless you’re going to do some whore-ish activities. If that’s the case, then I want to know who Big Erwin’s getting in with.”

Erwin’s nose wrinkled and he turned his face away slightly. “Oh, god. Never call me that again,” he requested, and Hange just grinned at him. He took a few paces towards the door and rested his hand on the handle.

“Try not to antagonise Moblit too much. I’ll see you around.”

With that done, Erwin let himself out of her apartment and made his way quickly down to his car and pointedly avoiding looking at his reflection in any window.

It was a colder morning, puddles on the street from the overnight rain and the sky didn’t look particularly promising for today. He was eager to get back to his own apartment and turn the heat right up before hopping into a shower, the hot water running down his back soothing his tense muscles. His head was only distantly throbbing thanks to the painkillers Hange had given him, but his stomach was precariously flipping and a quick nap sounded as close to perfection as one could get.

Warm and relaxed, Erwin slid into his comfortable bed and set an alarm on his phone for an hour before easily falling asleep.

Waking up once more was unpleasant, but after that quick nap he already felt miles better and relented to the shrill alarm and vibrations of his phone, turning it off and hauling himself out of his heavenly bed. With a soft sweater and loose sweatpants on, he brought a cup of his tea to a neglected stack of essays and forced himself to work through them, despite every muscle and bone in his body wanting nothing more than to get some takeaway and curl back up in bed and listen to some soothing rain and ocean sounds.

He made it through the stack after what felt like an eternity and he shoved them into his bag and trudged through to his living room, rubbing his tired eyes. It was already somewhat late, after having had a shower, nap and finishing his work. He pondered whether he should literally just go back to sleep, which was extremely tempting, but his stomach rumbling demandingly and he thought of all the takeaways that would deliver to his, not ready to drive for his food.

He ended up with an indian takeaway and tipping the driver generously before digging into it and throwing the leftovers into a Tupperware box for later.

The unhealthy but devilishly delicious food settled pleasantly in his stomach and once all the trash had been cleaned, he didn’t feel guilty about scrolling through pointless YouTube videos in his bed. He saw Hange once again posting on her Instagram story – something Erwin had yet to get the hang of yet Hange managed to navigate it expertly – some pictures her and Petra had taken, one for Moblit who had stayed a while longer to clean and help make sure she was fine (Erwin believed the man deserved a medal for his dedication to Hange, whether or not he had feelings for the eccentric woman.)

Petra’s words from the night before rang in his ears. Everyone did seem to be making connections with amazing people, if they hadn’t already, and people his age were usually married, had kids. He devoted most of his time to his work and now he was beginning to feel too old to get into any sort of relationship. The silence in his apartment, broken only by the rain against his windows, became unnerving. He longed to hear someone elses’ footsteps as they wandered around the apartment, boiled the kettle, slid into bed beside Erwin and warmed the empty space next to him.

He felt like some lovesick teenager, but he couldn’t help that he quite liked the idea of waking up to someone whom he could trust and devote his love to them, return home after work or wait for them to return back from whatever job they had, and, who knew, possibly even raise a family with.

Until then, though, Erwin had to wake up early to teach other people’s children and he couldn’t put his own lovesickness above his job.

Erwin listened to the rain hit his window for the length of time it took him to fall asleep, too aware of the emptiness of his bed and the repetitiveness of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this part, feel free to leave a comment; it motivates me to write more! Also, would you guys prefer some chapters from Levi's point of view, or simply from Erwin's, or changing them every so often?
> 
> If you want to reach me personally you can find me on Tumblr @ killerrs-queen.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> For any graphic chapters in the future I will put warnings in these notes, just in case anyone is sensitive to it, but until then you're good!

Students trickled into his classroom one by one or in their isolated friend groups once the bell rings, and Erwin waited until it seemed the entire class is here. The last gaggle of teenagers, a group he knew acted up constantly, rushed in almost seven minutes after the bell and he disapprovingly shook his head.

“You’re late,” he told them, and they seemed completely unfazed.

“Sorry,” one offered over their shoulder, sliding into their seat and loudly pulling their books out of their bag.   

“I’m sure you are,” Erwin muttered, waving a hand at them to hurry up so he could start the first lesson of the day.

As every first period on a Monday went, everyone was falling asleep at their desks and seemed to pay little interest in the class, preferring to show each other their photos and videos of the weekend where they had definitely not been partaking in underage drinking, if Erwin were asked. He had once been a teenager too, after all, and he knew advising them not to go to a party would only fall on deaf ears.

“I understand,” he said, raising his voice to get their attention, “that it’s a Monday morning and you’re all tired and excited to see your friends again, but this is school. You have break in a while, so if you could kindly save your conversations until then, it would be appreciated.”

At the very least, his pleads did get a few minutes of undivided attention where he could speak to them about the poem they were analysing; ‘ _War Photographer_ ’ by Scottish poet Carol Anne Duffy. Though he had to criticise the poetry choices for the English course, he had to admit that there were worse ones than that.

He ended up letting them pack up a few minutes early and have a quick talk before the bell went and they rushed out of the class like they’d get locked in if they didn’t otherwise. They had, at least, left their homework for him to collect on their desks, neatly putting them into a stack in one of the drawers of his desk, and waited for his second period class, one he was actually fond of.

He did like all of his students; he knew that a good bond with a teacher helped a lot in class, so he tried to make his students feel respected and listened to in the class, and not having other students favoured above themselves. He gave each student a chance and clean slate, but there were some, there were always some, that just knew how to get on his nerves.

This class, however, was rather well-behaved. It was one of the senior classes and so the class was smaller, full of people who actively chose to take the course further in their education when they had the chance to drop it, and the drama that went on usually didn’t involve him or disrespect him, and so he was happy to have them all.

In addition, they were always on time.

They filled their seats shortly after the bell rang and spoke for a few moments before turning their attention to Erwin, shuffling papers at the front of his classroom.

“I’ve marked all of your essays,” he said, walking down the aisles of desks and handing each one back, “and I’m pleased with the results. You all seem to be getting the hang of the structure, though there’s still a small problem with the evaluation part of it, so I’ll go over that today. As always, my door is always open at break and lunch, and if enough people were willing to show up, I’d be happy to have an after school study support for an hour or so. I’d even bring some food.”

The last part was probably the part that caught the students’ attention the most, and he didn’t blame them.

“Hell, if it was a small enough group, I’d be willing to do it in a café so you could actually get a nice drink and a better environment than just another hour in the classroom. I do actually care about your grades and want you to pass, after all,” he shrugged, handing the last essay out to one kid.

“So, with a show of hands, how many people would possibly come to any after school study support?” He asked, once more standing behind his oak desk and looking over the students. Much to his surprise, once they were busy looking at their marks on their essays, a fair amount of them raised their hands in response to his question.

“Oh, okay,” he mused, “better than I was expecting. Days? Preferred food or places I wouldn’t get questioned for being with a bunch of young kids?”

There were a few snickers from the seniors before he heard different kind of sugary sweets being yelled at him, a variety of week days, and a couple of café names including one ‘Starbucks’ that he vehemently chose to ignore.

“Alright, okay; I’ll have a think about it and get back to you guys soon, yeah? But now, we have some actual work to do, so let’s get started with that.”

With that, he began the lesson he had planned for this class, pleasantly interacting with the respectful students. He handed out their homework for the day before they left class, promising he’d figure out a good day for them to do some study support as the exams drew nearer and nearer.

He took the short break to sit in the Staff room for the English department and pour himself some coffee, listening to other teachers talking about their students and morning and their weekend. He didn’t care to share anything about his own weekend, too engrossed in his coffee and waking up and preparing for the rest of the long day ahead.

And a long day it was. His students weren’t enthusiastic to work, although that was the usual for a Monday, and he was about as excited for the last bell as the students, eager to get home, finish whatever work he had to finish, and then curl up and relax. Hange found him at lunch, a pleasant disruption to his robotic coffee-drinking and pasta-eating, and she rambled on about the weekend. He was glad to see that she did enjoy it at least.

“We should do it again,” she said, her feet up on one of the students desks. Erwin shrugged, not entirely opposed to the idea again.

“Petra was talking about going to a bar,” he offered and Hange perked up, humming thoughtfully.

“There are some nice bars around,” she admitted with a nod of her head, a hand raising to shove brown strands of hair behind her ears.

“Well, think about it, I’ll be down to come out.”

Lunch went by too quickly and his last two classes went by slowly. The students snickered and chatted quietly together as if he had suddenly gone deaf and blind to them, and he had never felt so relieved to hear the bell signalling the end of the long school day. He packed his bags slowly, awaited Hange’s approach, and they left the building.

Rain was hammering down outside and they both hurried to pull their hoods over their heads and hurry to the parking spots at the side of the school, weaving through cars and dodging puddles.

“Isn’t Autumn supposed to be lovely golden sun rays on beautiful red leaves?” Hange muttered disdainfully, shaking her head and not-so-subtly trying to use Erwin’s tall body to shield herself from the rain. He was used to it, however, so he didn’t make a comment on it.

“It’s also supposed to rain a fuckton,” Erwin replied, digging around in his pockets to pull his car keys out.

“Oh, swearing now are we?” Hange hummed, nudging his hip with her elbow. “And hey, hey – where are you going?” She asked.

“Home?” Erwin replied, staring at her with confusion, “unless you want to sit out here in the rain and chat.”

“But do you know what I really want? Food. And you know what place gives really good food? Levi’s. And who’s car has heated seats? Yours. I’ll pay gas. Let’s go, Erwin.” As if to emphasise her point, she tugged on his sleeve childishly.

Erwin felt rain drip down his face as he fixed Hange with a strong stare, but he eventually heaved a sigh. He couldn’t deny that one of Levi’s hot chocolates or a pastry sounded just as good as curling up at home and getting a takeway.

“Fine. Get in.”

Hange’s wet face broke into a grin and she hugged his side tightly before she hopped around to the passengers side of the car.

The drive to the car park closest to Sina’s bakery was short  and pleasant, Hange pushing the buttons to start his heated seats in the car for the quick ride.

“I’m gonna end up getting fat at this rate,” she said, resting a hand on her stomach and bloating it out, and Erwin snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t look so far into the future,” he said, and Hange reached out to slap his knee lightly.

“So rude, Smith, so rude. I’m wounded. Do you know the therapy I need after hanging out with me?”

“Wow, and you call me rude?” He scoffed, but he was grinning and so was she.

He picked the closest parking spot to the exit of the car park and the two hurried out, holding their hoods up and looking at their feet, narrowly dodging puddles splashed across the pavement and roads.

The warmth of Sina’s bakery hit them was unbelievably pleasant, and they were quick to push their wet hoods down and breathe in the warm air smelling of freshly baked pastries.

“Dry your feet off on the mat please.”

Levi was standing off to the side, wiping down a table and thoroughly cleaning it. He eyed the pair of them until they had sufficiently dried their boots off before entering the place and taking a seat at their usual table.

“Should I start expecting you two every day?” He asked jokingly, and Hange grinned.

“Absolutely,” she said, and Levi snorted.

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” he assured them, and he took another moment to finish cleaning the table and putting his cleaning supplies away. He quickly returned, standing by the side of the table.

“So,” he said, “what can I get you?”

Erwin and Hange shared a thoughtful look. “Ah, two hot chocolates, please. And whatever the chef recommends today,” Erwin said, flashing the short man a grin. Levi smiled slightly at that, tipping his head down in a nod.

“Alright then. I’ll be one second. Here, let me take your jackets.”

“Oh, it’s fine, don’t worry about that-“

“If you want to seem more polite on me, then at least do it for me; it’ll drip all over the floor,” Levi argued, and that seemed to get the other two. They relented, handing over their jackets which Levi whisked off to a small closet nearby the counter, and then he disappeared inside the kitchen.

“For once I’m glad that you listened to Mike about his food choices,” Hange commented, stretching her legs out under the table and tapping her nails along the table.

There were two other couples in there, chatting quietly amongst themselves, and Erwin listened to Hange rambling about her day until Levi returned with two steaming cups of hot chocolate, and a small tub of mini marshmallows next to them. It was quickly followed by two plates dotted with small pastries. There was one pink bun-type pastry in the middle of each plate, and was accompanied by two pale green and blue, dusted pastries.

“Mochi,” Levi said, gesturing to the two other pastries, “and manju. Traditionally Japanese, first batch I’ve made here.”

Erwin hummed at that, looking over the pastries thoughtfully. They smelled and looked good, and he didn’t doubt they tasted bad either, already trusting Levi’s baking skills.

“Usually better with some tea, but,” he shrugged half-heartedly, “hot chocolate’s good too.”

“You’ve got that right!” Hange exclaimed, eying the pastries hungrily. “Long day?” She asked, and Levi shifted, shrugging once more.

“I guess, a little,” he nodded, and raised an eyebrow, looking over Erwin and Hange and quietly returning the question.

“It’s a Monday at high school,” Erwin answered, “it’s… testing.” Levi snorted at that.

“I can’t imagine teaching teenagers,” he muttered, shaking his head at the idea.

“There are some good ones,” Erwin shrugged, “it’s worth it in the end.”

“I’ll stick to baking,” he decided confidently. The seat in front of him inched out, Hange’s foot the culprit to the act.

“Sit, sit,” she said, and Levi rolled his eyes.

“I can’t this time,” he said, “I’m actually finishing something just now.”

“I feel so unloved,” Hange pouted, “first you don’t want to get drunk with us, now you won’t sit with us.”

“I gave you marshmallows. That’s my compensation,” Levi defended, and then Hange’s eyes lit up mischievously.

“That’s the hint to run,” Erwin muttered, and Levi shared a smirk with the man.

“Or,” Hange drawled, absentmindedly dropping marshmallows into her hot chocolate, “you could come out with us this weekend. Another chance for a fun night.”

“You’re so desperate to get me drunk I think I should be worried for my safety,” Levi commented, raising his eyebrows.

“Ah, you’re a taken man, have no fear. Bring your man, too!”

“You did say you had just moved here,” Erwin offered, “you could get to know some more people and places.” He shrugged, kept it a simple offer, and Levi seemed slightly conflicted for a moment.

“You’re relentless,” he muttered with the shake of his head, “maybe, alright?”

“Good enough for me,” Hange beamed and Levi, exasperated, took a step back.

“Am I free now?” He asked, and Hange waved her hand.

“Roam free, my man, roam free.”

He and Levi snorted at that, but Levi dipped slightly. “Enjoy,” he said with a gesture to the pastries, and then he dipped off to check on the other people in the bakery before running back off into the kitchen.

Erwin kept his hot chocolate free of marshmallows despite Hange’s persistence, and then he picked up one of the pastries – mochi, Levi said – and bit into it at the same time as Hange. He concealed his moans of pleasure from the onslaught of sugary sweet perfection that rushed to greet his taste buds better than Hange did. He heard the resounding slap as she brought her hand over her mouth as if to muffle the sound that had already echoed in the bakery, and both of them felt their cheeks heat up in embarrassment from her actions. Still, the pastries were absolutely delicious, and that was non-negotiable.

He was sure Levi was probably laughing somewhere in the back of the kitchen.

“This is fucking amazing,” Hange moaned, at least somewhat less loud.

“God bless Mike,” Erwin agreed, and then moved onto the manju.

“Amen,” Hange murmured.

Erwin was almost glad that their previous favourite café had shut down and they’d found this place.

They were so engrossed in trying to devour the pastries as politely as they could they almost completely missed the next customer coming in if not for the chime of the door.

“I’ll be a minute!” Levi called from the kitchen, and the man, tall and blonde, wore a knowing grin. He had bags under his eyes and held a small suitcase up, probably to stop any loud and obnoxious sound of the wheels on the ground. For some reason, he looked vaguely familiar.

He caught Erwin looking at him, and he nodded his head in friendly greeting before taking a seat at one of the tables.

“I trust the food is good?” He asked quietly, and Erwin nodded while Hange moaned her appreciation.

“Sorry about that, what can I get – what the fuck.”

Levi cut himself off suddenly, his cheeks heating up slightly and Erwin and Hange, both extremely curious by now, watched the scene not very discreetly, until it hit him. Levi had given them a card for his boyfriends band, and the blonde man sitting in front of them was the spitting image of the man on the card.

“Well, that’s not very polite,” the man greeted, but he stood up and opened his arms. Levi, looking the most relaxed Erwin thought he’d ever seen, didn’t hesitate before stepping into the embrace.

“You bitch,” Levi muttered, “you said you were away for another three days.” He stepped back, shaking his head and composing himself.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he replied and Levi snorted. He glanced at the people in the bakery with red cheeks before reaching down to grab his suitcase, and then his hand, pulling him behind the counter and through the door into the kitchen.

“Adorable,”  Hange muttered, mochi staining her fingers. “Why are all the hot guys taken _and_ gay?”

Erwin snorted at that, turning back to his hot chocolate and sipping it.

“If you opened your eyes you’d see one very willing man for you,” Erwin commented, ignoring Hange’s narrowed, scrutinising gaze.

There was muffled chat and laughter from the kitchen, and when Levi re-entered the bakery, standing behind the counter, his partner trailed after him. The look Levi gave him when he was finished messing with whatever it was behind the counter was so full of – everything – that it made Erwin almost jealous. Not for Levi to look at him like that – that was wrong, he was taken first and foremost, after all – but for anyone to look at him like that. He cursed Petra for bringing these thoughts to the front of his mind, and he focused on finishing his food and drink.

When Levi came around to take their dishes away, Hange grinned at him.

“So that’s your man?” She mused, wriggling her eyebrows, and the supressed smile on the raven’s face was good enough a reply.

“He was in a different city for the past couple week,” Levi said, “I thought he was supposed to be away for longer.” His eyes found his boyfriend once more, and it seemed to invite him over.

“Already made some friends?” The blonde joked, and Levi did a quick introduction, both for Erwin and Hange and his boyfriend, apparently called Ezra.

“Levi is quite… amazing at baking,” Hange nodded, and Ezra laughed, sliding a hand around Levi’s back.

“I’m a lucky man,” he agreed.

“Levi said you’d just moved to this city,” Hange commented, and received another nod from Ezra.

“A few weeks now, right?” He hummed, and Levi nodded, fiddling with the now-empty cups in front of him.

“Well, we – I, really – was offering that you two could come out with us for a night? It’d be good to get to know some people, see some places. Up to you two of course, but hey, least we can do anyone for Levi’s god-like baking skills.” Hange brought up, and Levi let out a small snort.

“You’re not going to let the offer drop, are you?” He joked, and Hange grinned.

Ezra looked thoughtful before looking down at the suddenly shy raven. “That wouldn’t be a bad idea, actually. You seem like nice people if you’ve gotten Levi to talk a bit,” he joked, nudging the man in question. “What do you think?” He asked, and Levi shrugged.

“Why not, I guess?” He replied, and Ezra grinned.

“I guess it’s a date. Well, lovely to meet you two, Erwin, Hange, but I’m horrifically tired and need to unpack, so I’ll hopefully see you around.” He said, and tipped his head in a quick goodbye. His hands lingered on Levi before he drifted back into the kitchen, and Levi began to pick up the dishes once more.

“I hope you don’t live in that kitchen,” Hange commented, and Levi snorted.

“The apartment’s above it,” he explained.

“Well, my dude, lovely to see you again and meet your man. He’s your money for your fucking amazing food. Have a good night, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re disgusting,” Levi wrinkled his nose up in response to her wink. Hange just grinned.

“See ya this weekend,” she said, and stood up, fetching their jackets while Erwin just shared a look with Levi.

“Well, I’ll look forwards to seeing you this weekend at the very least,” he muttered, and Erwin smiled. He clapped a hand onto the ravens shoulder, nodding.

“There’s still a whole week until then. Sorry to say, you probably won’t get a break from us,” he grinned, and Levi dramatically groaned.

Hange and Erwin pulled their coats on, their hoods up over their heads as the rain still hammering down outside.

“Have a good night, Levi,” Erwin sincerely said, and Levi’s lips twitched.

“Yeah, you too,” he said, tipping his head. He held the door open for them and waved at them through the window before they were out of sight, hurrying back to Erwin’s car with pleasantly full stomachs.

“I did not expect that,” Hange snickered, and Erwin shrugged.

“At least they seem happy,” he said, glancing at her from under his hood.

“True that. And I finally won,” she declared, victorious. Erwin snorted.

“I’m scared by your obsession with taking them out-“

“I’m being friendly!”

“Sure. Now, give me the gas money. I’m going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this part! A little progress happening!


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter! Sorry for the long wait, so I hope this makes up for it!
> 
> Non-descriptive smut towards the end of the chapter, but other than that, no warnings. Enjoy!

“If I’d known you were coming today I would have cleaned better,” Levi said.

The bakery had shut half an hour ago and he’d finished cleaning it quickly before hanging his apron and heading up the staircase in the back of the kitchen.

Ezra had been sitting in the living room of their little apartment, his laptop a few inches from his thigh on the coffee table and his keyboard was set out on the coffee table, and his fingers stilled on the keys. The blonde scoffed, shaking his head.

“If you clean anymore we can get rid of the plates,” he said. He slid to the side and then gestured to the now-free seat next to him.

Levi stepped over, slotting himself into Ezra’s side and resting his head on the musician’s chest. A warm hand slid around his waist and settled on his stomach.

“I’m sorry I left for so long,” Ezra murmured, his thumb rubbing circles through his shirt.

“Nonsense,” Levi waved that away, “you got an amazing offer, I wouldn’t have let you not take it.”

“You’re too good to me,” Ezra murmured, resting his chin atop of Levi’s head. Levi moved his hand to rest over his partner’s, squeezing it gently.

Levi turned his head up and Ezra turned his down to meet him. The kiss was quick and soft, and they parted for a second only to return with more hunger, more enthusiasm. Electricity coiled in Levi’s stomach and he leaned closer to Ezra, pressed their chests together and tried to steal weeks’ worth of contact within a few moments. He was left breathless when Ezra pulled back with a breathy chuckle, rubbing his thumb along Levi’s sharp cheekbone.

“As much as I’d love to take this further, I’m not sure a rumbling stomach is a huge turn on.”

Levi’s cheeks flushed slightly and he nodded, pulling himself back. He stood up and so did Ezra, but Levi ushered him back down.

“Relax,” he smiled, “how does pasta sound tonight?”

The blonde, slowly settling back into the sofa, smiled and nodded. “Lovely,” he agreed, and let go of Levi’s hand he’d softly held to let him drift off to the kitchen.

Their apartment was a small thing, but it suited them just perfectly. The staircase from the bakery’s kitchen led to the living room but they had DIY-ed a make-shift wall between the stairs and the living room with curtains, with a genkan opposite the stairs where one would swap out their outdoor shoes for slippers. The living room itself was small, mostly confined to the seating in the corner by the windows. The furniture was a lot of traditional Japanese style, for which Levi was grateful, while Ezra’s touch was evident in the decorations; the paintings, the ornaments, the little knick-knacks.

Their kitchen was joint and he could see Ezra sitting in the living room. He returned back to his keyboard and Levi smiled at the music that came from his fingertips while he busied himself with making pasta with bacon, chicken, broccoli and carbonara sauce. It was a fairly quick and easy meal for him to make. Upon Levi’s return to the living room, Ezra cleared the coffee table, setting his laptop further back and the keyboard aside.

“Tea?”  Levi asked, sliding the bowl of pasta in front of his partner who scooped it up and smiled.

“Oh, yes please,” Ezra hummed, and Levi smiled before scurrying back to pour two cups of tea and carefully carry them over to where they would sit. 

When he had set the cups down next to their pasta and sat down, a chaste kiss to his cheek greeted him and Ezra smiled, stabbing pasta onto his fork. Levi returned the look, his chest warm, and they ate quietly, listening to the rain against the nearby window.

Falling asleep that night with Ezra behind him, his chest firmly against Levi’s back, their legs tangled together and poking out of their blanket on their thick futon, Levi felt he slept better than he had in the past few days.

 

“Leaving so soon?”

Levi turned to look at Ezra, only a mop of messy blonde hair poking out of the blanket, sun shining in through the window behind him.

“I need a shower,” Levi smiled, “and to start baking.”

Ezra pushed himself up onto his elbows, and Levi smiled at the way his hair fell across his face and stuck up in odd positions.

“You can’t even take some time off for me?” He coaxed, and Levi’s fingers toyed with the blanket in front of his knees. He hadn’t seen him for a couple of weeks, and one day off wouldn’t kill them.

“I… guess I could,” he relented, and Ezra beamed at him and lifted the blanket back up as an invitation.

“Fuck yeah,” Ezra said, and Levi snorted as he slid back into the futon. Ezra let the blanket fall back down and, with an arm around Levi’s back, yanked him closer, drawing out a squeak from his lips.

“I missed you,” Levi commented, his face against Ezra’s chest, and Ezra raised an eyebrow, humming.

“Really?” He teased, and Levi rolled his eyes but flashed him a smile.

“Of course, idiot,” he snorted.

“How much?” He asked, and his hand ran down his side and settled on his hip. His fingertips slid past the hem of his boxers, teased the pale skin stretched over his hip.

Levi felt giddy, his heart and his head light, and he shared the boyish smile on Ezra’s face.

“Do you want to know?” He hummed, and Ezra held his head still to catch his lips.

 

He didn’t regret the decision to stay in that day, even if he showered an hour later and Ezra joined him with welcome, wandering hands. He served them breakfast in the form of eggs and bacon and a cup of tea (coffee for Ezra) and they ate together in the kitchen, thighs pressed against each other.

Levi cleaned the dishes while Ezra’s fingers danced along the keys of his keyboard, filling the apartment with a pleasant tune. Levi stood, leaning against the wall, and watched his partner engrossed in his music and he smiled.

This was what he enjoyed. He hoped it could stay this way forever.

“Have they gotten back to you about any gigs?” He asked, stepping forwards and lowering himself into a seat. Ezra glanced up from his nimble fingers, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully.

“Not yet,” he said, shaking his head, “but I’ve to be checking my emails and texts every day, just in case. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon.”

“I’m sure you will,” Levi nodded, “they’d be stupid to miss out on you.”

Ezra smiled at him, reaching over to grip his jaw and pull him closer. He pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek before returning to the keyboard in front of him.

“Maybe we could go out later?” Levi offered, leaning closer to him and tipping his head to the side.

“Anywhere in mind?” The blonde asked curiously. His fingers stilled over the keys and he settled on turning the instrument off and diverting his attention to the raven beside him, who shrugged in return.

“We could always just take a look at the shops, or go out for dinner somewhere nice?” He suggested hopefully, and Ezra hummed.

“That could  be nice,” he agreed and rose to his feet. He reached for Levi’s hand and coaxed him to his feet also, and guided him back into their bedroom. He guided Levi to sit back down on their futon and he went to rummage through their wardrobe, humming. Levi couldn’t push away the smile on his face.

“I didn’t know you were my mother,” Levi commented jokingly. Ezra turned to look at him with a snort.

“You’d lose your head without me screwing it on,” he replied, and Levi’s cheeks flushed warmly. He watched Ezra turn back and pull clothes out, and then he handed some to Levi.

“Are you trying to make me look like some obvious goth twink?” He queried, looking at the clothes that people his age shouldn’t wear, unless they managed to pass for a younger age, which he, unfortunately, did.

“What can I say,” Ezra hums, “I love it.”

He’s given him an oversized ‘Thrasher’ hoodie – and when he says oversized, he means oversized for his six-foot boyfriend, and it virtually reaches his knees, exposed in the ripped jeans accompanying the huge hoodie.

Ezra pulls his own clothes out, much more proper than his own, and then he turns and looks at Levi.

“Well? We should leave soon, have a nice day. Get changed,” he urges, and Levi raises an eyebrow.

With a huff, Levi stands from his futon and kicks his joggers off to the side, and then pulls his jumper over his head, staring at Ezra. He pulls on the Thrasher hoodie and lets it fall down to his knees, and watches Ezra step closer. A hand on his lower back pulls him to his boyfriends chest and he feels his other hand slide under the baggy hoodie and up his smooth thigh.

“You’re just so perfectly small I can’t help myself,” he muttered, and Levi raised an eyebrow, craning his neck to look up at him.

“Perfectly?” He hummed, and Ezra’s lips twitched.

“I thought it was a better way to say fuckable and helpless,” he shrugged, and Levi snorted.

“Such a gentleman,” he muttered, and then his lips were on his neck and his fingers were kneading the back of his thigh.

“You were the one,” Levi said, but his fingers were twising the fabric of Ezra’s shirt, “who said we needed to hurry up.”

Ezra hummed against his neck and bit down in a way that made Levi’s breath hitch and fade into a groan.

His lips went higher, bruising his skin in places that he couldn’t hide unless he wore a turtleneck, which he did not own, and he knew he was doing it on purpose.

Levi’s fingers tugged his light hair, too distracted by his wandering, teasing hands and skilful lips.

“Unless you’re going to do something else,” he ground out, “then stop fuckin’ teasing me like this.”

Ezra chuckled against him, and he moved one hand to roughly grip Levi’s jaws.

“You don’t tell me what to do,” he says, and Levi’s heart races with lust. He felt like some horny teenager, and he glares at Ezra, who knew exactly what he’s doing.

He pulled away and pushed Levi’s jeans against his chest.

“We haven’t got all day,” he said, and ice runs through Levi’s hot body.

“You’re such a cunt,” he mutters, and only received a grin in return.

They actually got changed and left the house with no more intimate touches, and they walked through the city streets until they reached the city centre and the large shopping mall, hand in hand, and their first destination was the milkshake stand in the food court. Possibly his favourite place for milkshakes, and he was pleased to see only one person in the line and so for them to get their drinks it didn’t take long.

Levi’s hand dipped into the pocket containing his wallet but Ezra tsked, pushing it away and paying for both of theirs. Levi raised an eyebrow and Ezra returned the look.

“You can pay me back later if you’re determined,” he stated with a shrug. They received their milkshakes; Levi with a simple chocolate chip one and Ezra with an oreo one, and then they began looking around the shops that caught Ezra’s eyes.

“The shops here are much better than the ones in the other city,” he said, and Levi hummed, engrossed in finishing the milkshake in his hands. He looked up from a pair of shoes he had been looking at distractedly and saw Ezra watching him.

“I guess they’re not bad,” Levi agreed, “but I miss that, ah… That bookshop on the corner,” he commented, and Ezra snorted softly.

“You’re obsessed with books,” Ezra said, and Levi’s lips twitched.

“Is it a bad thing?” He replied, and Ezra hummed.

“Depends. What if you love books more than me?” He said, and Levi snorted.

“Obviously not,” Levi said, eyes flicking back down to the shoes in front of him.

“You did seem quite close with that… What’s his name? Erwin guy.”

Levi startled at, turning to look at Ezra with raised eyebrows.

“What?” He said, appalled, and Ezra shrugged, looking at the clothes in front of him.

“That’s just what it seemed like to me,” he responded nonchalantly, and Levi swallowed. He stepped closer to Ezra’s side, eyes narrowed.

“Nonsense. He’s just a regular customer,” he said, and settled a hand on Ezra’s arm that he shrugged off with a sigh.

“I know, I know,” the blonde sighed, “but I’m away for long periods of time and you’re gorgeous and I’m me… Can you blame me?”

Levi felt gobsmacked as he shook his head and snorted.

“Don’t say that,” Levi said, reaching back out and slipping their fingers together. Ezra looked down at him with searching eyes, and eventually he let out a small breath, shook his head, and pulled Levi into his side.

“I’m sorry, forget that,” he said, and Levi let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “You know I just get anxious sometimes.”

“I know, I’m sorry. We don’t have to go out with them this weekend, we can stay in-“

“No, no, let’s go. It could still be fun, I was just overreacting,” Ezra said with a tight smile, and Levi squeezed his hand.

“As long as you’re sure,” he said, and was happy to let the topic drop as they continued through the shop as if nothing had happened.

 

Shops were closing by the time they returned home, carrying a few shopping bags of clothes Ezra had decided they could treat themselves to. Levi was eager to get back and start hanging their new clothes up and folding them away while Ezra poured some tea in the kitchen.

“Burgers?” He said as he quietly entered the room and held out a cup of tea to him.

“What about them?” Levi asked and he muttered a thanks as he took the tea and gently blew across its’ steaming surface.

“For dinner? Or there’s a Chinese restaurant, or a world buffet. Or how about an Italian? There’s a fancy restaurant that does Italian food. Or sushi, too,” he suggested, and Levi turned the options over in his head.

“Whatever you want,” he said and offered a smile. Ezra hummed, sliding past Levi to look into their wardrobe.

“Well, we can’t go out when you look like a goth twink, as you so eloquently put it,” he said, and Levi playfully rolled his eyes but stepped back to let him look through their more posh clothes.

“I think the Italian place could be good,” Ezra commented, and Levi hummed.

“I don’t think I’ve had Italian in a while,” he agreed, “we could try it.”

Thankfully, this outfit actually fitted Levi, and was much nicer than the emo teenager one he had previously been wearing, and suited the occasion better. Ezra had even pulled out the expensive golden watch, probably the most expensive wearable thing he owned, that he had gotten them on their anniversary, and he fastened it around his wrist and checked that the time was correct.

“You go from wanting me to look like some angsty teen to a professional, rich guy,” Levi snorted, and Ezra offered him a boyish grin.

“Hey, you can pull it all off,” he shrugged, and Levi smiled meekly, gave his arm an affectionate squeeze. Ezra hurried to change into some also more fancy clothes, and with that, they headed out once more.

Levi listened fondly as Ezra rambled on about the gig he was currently trying to get, a simple opening band for a bigger band playing in a few months somewhere across the city and would potentially be a big break for his own band. He gesticulated wildly, excitement and enthusiasm evident in his voice and his expression, and it warmed Levi to see him so happy. He knew music meant a lot to Ezra, and he was beyond happy to see him making positive progress how he always wanted.

“You’ll get the gig,” he said surely, “I know it.”

Ezra grinned goofily at him, leaning on Levi as they staggered down the streets and towards the restaurant. “Ackerman intuition?” He asked, and Levi flashed a grin.

“Of course,” he confirmed jokingly.

The restaurant was more posh than what Levi was used to, chandeliers and string lights giving it a soft, fancy atmosphere and the never-ending sound of champagne glasses clinking was louder than the background classical music playing gently. It was mainly only couples in there, dressed in fancy suits and dresses, expensive looking diamonds hanging off womens’ wrists and glistening golden watches on the mens.

A polite woman took them to a table for two and as they looked over the menu, Levi felt Ezra’s foot rub against his leg under the table. Levi made a point of ignoring it until their drinks, flutes of bubbly prosecco, were brought out to them with an appetizer of breadsticks and the foot was replaced by a hand on his knee.

“It’s nice here, isn’t it?” Ezra mused, his free hand plucking a breadstick and biting the tip off. He raised a thin eyebrow at Levi, who was just taking a sip of the prosecco and setting it back down on the provided coaster.

“I guess so,” he agreed with a small nod. Fingers flexed over his knee and slyly inched up his thigh, tilted down to the inside of his thigh.

Plates of steaming food were set in front of them and their flutes were refilled, soon accompanied by bottomless wine glasses progressively getting stained more red. Levi’s cheeks flushed pink and he wiped cream from their dessert off his nose when Ezra missed feeding it past his lips, and their laughter and snickering and hiccupping rang out. Ezra’s fingers summoned another bottle of wine that he splashed into Levi’s glass to see the way Levi laughed without restraint and swayed when they stood up after paying.

“I forgot how much of a lightweight you could be,” Ezra chuckled, watching Levi fumble to unbutton the first couple of buttons of his shirt, alcohol making him feel too hot despite the chill in the air outside.

“Fuck off, I’m not even,” Levi hiccupped, though his balance tipped and he fell into Ezra, who raised his eyebrows.

“I think I’ll be the judge of that,” he stated, fingers pressing into his hips. He tugged him to the side, ducking into a dimly lit alleyway that echoed the sounds of passing cars.

Levi snickered. “This isn’t the way home,” he said, goofily.

“I know that, silly,” Ezra said, and he ran his fingers through Levi’s messy hair, slid his hand down to cup his rosy cheek. Whatever the raven went to say next, it was cut off by his partner catching his lips in a rushed, feverish kiss.

“You just look so good like this,” Ezra muttered, “your hair a mess, cheeks all red. I think you do it on purpose,” he said, and the back of Levi’s head gently thumped against the cool brick wall behind him, let Ezra have more access to his neck to nip at the already-bruised skin.

Levi half-heartedly tried to shove away Ezra’s hands tugging at the belt to his trousers with a laugh, soft, squinting eyes looking at the unclear form of his lover in front of him.

“We’re not even home yet, Ez,” he pointed out, as if Ezra had forgotten the dirty alleyway they currently stood in.

“Yeah, but doesn’t that make it exciting, Levi?” He questioned, lips suddenly by his ear and making Levi shudder. “That anyone could walk by and see us, see the state you put me in, hear your gorgeous, slutty little moans when I suck your cock?”

Levi’s eyes flickered shut, adams apple bobbing as he swallowed heavily. “Fuck,” he muttered, and Ezra grinned against his neck and pulled his belt off, fingers pulling his trousers down just enough.

Before Ezra, Levi never would have thought about ever daring to do anything like this, let alone have sex multiple times a day. He wasn’t an overly sexual person all in all, yet Ezra seemed to have a sex drive that could put the best to shame, and Levi could only hope to keep up with it all. But drunk and having been apart from Ezra for a few weeks were enough to cloud his judgement as the taller man sunk to his knees in front of him and held his hips back against the wall behind him.

Levi twisted his fingers in the bobbing mop of blonde hair in front of him, trying to urge him faster than the agonisingly slow and gentle pace Ezra had set himself. He put a quick end to it by reaching up and taking both of Levi’s slender wrists and holding them against the rough brick wall either side of him.

Each time a set of headlights passed, Levi would tense, bite his lip and try to keep himself quiet and draw no attention to them. By the time he was gripping Ezra’s wrists, heat pooling in him, Ezra was relentless and Levi could hear a group of laughing, drunk people walking down this side of the street.

“Ezra,” he muttered, “there’s – there’s people comin’.”

“Well,” the man responded, breathless, “you better shut up.”

His head dipped again and, much to Levi’s pleasure, he let go of his wrists. Almost immediately one hand held onto his hair while the other settled between his teeth, muffling the obscene moans coming from his throat. He heard the clicking of heels and high laughter of girls accompanied by that of men over the sound of his own heart drumming in his ears and his own erratic breathing, now just outside the alley. If he narrowed his eyes, he could see the large group of people, obviously drunk, staggering and joking around, recording videos on their phones and shoving each other. Ezra, unashamed, didn’t falter one bit. If anything, he pulled out every trick he knew that made Levi’s knees shake, brought his orgasm closer despite the lingering group of people.

It was almost painful how hard he bit into his hand, holding Ezra’s head flush against him and trembling with pleasure. Ezra pulled back from him, smirking as he swallowed and stood up. He ran his fingers through his hair, helped sort his trousers and belt back up.

“So good for me, baby,” he praised, kissing his cheek, “so, so good. We can go home now.”

Levi decided that the worst part of the night was having to walk past the group of drunks on their way home while Ezra grinned all the while.

 

“I can’t believe we did that,” Levi said, kicking his shoes off at home. He was sobering now, well aware of what just happened.

“But wasn’t it hot?” Ezra grinned, and Levi’s cheeks turned warm again. It had been, too.

“Exactly,” he chuckled, taking his hand and leading him through to the bedroom.

“I don’t understand how you’re so horny all the time,” Levi muttered. The blonde shrugged, grinning further.

“It benefits you too, I don’t see a problem. And anyway, I blame you. You’re too much to resist.”

Levi snorted, rolling his eyes. He shrugged his trousers and shirt off, falling back onto their futon while Ezra stripped and kicked their clothes to the side. Pleasantly full of good food and wine, still buzzing, the two were more than happy to fall into bed together. Ezra messed with his phone until their speaker began to play some quiet music. His foot pried Levi’s legs apart to intertwine them together possessively, fingers drawing shapes on Levi’s milky skin.

“I missed you a lot,” Ezra hummed, and Levi smiled, his eyes drifting shut.

“I missed you too,” he repeated, shifted to rest his head on his torso. He could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest with each breath, hear his strong heartbeat under his ear, and his hand splayed out on his shoulder was warm. These were the moments he enjoyed the most. Not the wild, risky sex Ezra introduced him to, or accompanying him to gigs or going out for dinner. He enjoyed when they could just be together, when the world was moving around them and they were in their own little world and Ezra loved him. Those were the moments he loved the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t they just seem like the perfect couple? If only the tags didn’t give everything away... ah well.
> 
>  
> 
> If you enjoyed this so far, feel free to leave a kudos or a comment, I love hearing all your feedback! Also, I have some cool news I guess, if you don’t follow my Tumblr.  
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> With that out the way, though, I hope you enjoy this!


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update! Most probably will be rather slow for a while, I'm rather stressed with school and approaching exams and folios to finish. Still, I hope you bear with me and enjoy this part!

Ezra was still dead asleep in the morning and Levi slid out of bed as silently as he could, making his way to the bathroom to swiftly shower and wash his face before boiling the kettle and making scrambled eggs for breakfast. He debated waking Ezra to have breakfast, but decided to let the man sleep in and leave him be. He needed to hurry up and open his bakery anyway, so he set his dishes into the dishwasher, brushed his teeth, and went downstairs.

Baking was something Levi had picked up from his mother, whom had loved cooking and baking and passed on all of her knowledge and skills to him, and since she had passed and he’d moved far from his previous home he’d baked much more, had a personal interest and connection to the activity. It was something he prided himself on, and he was happy to be able to share it with other people. The process of baking sweet confections was therapeutic and relaxing.

Setting a variety of pastries into the ovens he had finally prepared, Levi turned the sign on the door to ‘OPEN’ and gave all the tables a quick wipe down, sprayed some air freshener, and retreated to his warm kitchen once more to watch the confections bake. At some point once he’d started to plate them and put them into the display cases, he heard movement from upstairs, Ezra waking up and wandering around their apartment.

He heard him coming down the stairs as he put another tray of pastries into an oven, and Levi turned to greet him with a smile.

“What happened to breakfast, huh?” Ezra commented, a slight joking tone to his voice. Levi raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“What about it?” He asked, taking the hand offered to him in a gentle grip.

“We were going to have breakfast together,” he stated, and Levi furrowed his eyebrows.

“We were? I don’t remember that,” Levi said with a slight chuckle, running his thumb over Ezra’s knuckles.

“Well, I guess you were shit-faced last night,” the blonde replied jokingly, though there was a disappointing hint to his tone. Levi narrowed his eyes in confusion, tilting his head to the side. He had felt fine upon waking up – maybe a small headache, but nothing else. He also thought he could fully remember the events of last night.

“I feel fine,” he commented, and Ezra stepped aside, running his hand along Levi’s back.

“You’re always lucky like that though,” he laughed, “I wouldn’t be complaining.”

Levi ran a hand down his face, blowing out a breath. “Really? Shit, I’m sorry. I guess I must’ve forgotten,” he murmured, and Ezra glanced aside, shrugging.

“Don’t worry. I’m just surprised you drank that much to forget.”

Levi shifted on the spot guiltily, his cheeks flushing gently.

“Tomorrow,” he promised, “I’ll make us a nice breakfast.”

Ezra flashed a grin, kissing the bruised skin of his neck. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

Levi nodded with a soft smile, watching the tall man retreat back up the staircase before returning to his baking. He kept going over the events of last night, trying to figure out when he might have missed things, when he had drank a little too much, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember any of it. He didn’t know if that proved his or Ezra’s point more. It was odd, considering he never really drank much, but he must have just gotten carried away.

He focused on the baking, deciding that he wasn’t going to be able to remember anytime soon, and he barrelled through with his baking, setting them in their display cases and keeping them well preserved.

A few people drifted in in the morning, getting a quick drink or bite to eat before heading off to work, seemingly pleased to see the bakery open once more. Around lunch time comes the usual rush, and a familiar group of teenagers.

“Was beginning to think I lost my most valuable customers,” Levi commented, wiping down a table. He paused to look up at the trio, dressed in their school uniform and carrying their bags over their shoulders.

“Was beginning to think you’d shut down,” Eren commented, skidding his bag across the floor until it landed just by the seat of the table they always sat at every time they came here.

“One day,” Levi snorted, and the cocky teenager raised an eyebrow.

“I take it you had a good day?” He mused, and Levi felt his cheeks warm up slightly at the reminder of the dark marks on his neck. He had hoped his collar would cover it, but apparently not.

“Usual?” He diverted, and the trio nodded, the blonde kid – Armin – offering a gentle “thank you”.

Their usual consisted of a croissant for Armin, a bagel with jam for Mikasa, and a chocolate chip swirl pastry for Eren, with the endless sweet tooth. And then some more smaller pastries that they could share. Finally, a hot chocolate each, topped with whipped cream.

Levi made the first trip out to bring their food out, setting each plate out in front of the corresponding customer. Then he brought out their hot chocolates topped with perfectly swirled whipped cream, setting them down with a gentle clink, and he tucked the tray under his arm.

“How’s school going?” He asked, setting a tiny bowl of mini marshmallows in the centre.

“Not bad,” Armin perked up with a nod, picking at his croissant. “It’s pretty busy with deadlines right now, but the teachers are nice about it.”

“That’s the opposite of what I expected.”

“We do have all that new technology and stuff, it helps a bit. But I guess you wouldn’t have had that yet,” Eren snarked, and Levi snorted.

“Keep toing that line, Yeager, and I’ll ban you for life,” he stated and turned his gaze away from him.

“And as for my preferred customers?” He asked, and the two offered a soft chuckle.

“It could be worse, but it’s still not great. ‘Shit ton of work,” Mikasa shrugged, tearing a piece of her bagel apart before dropping it in her mouth.

“That’s high school for you. Just drop out, there’s a whole world out there. Actually, don’t do that. Education’s supposed to be important, or something,” he shrugged, and the teenagers chuckled softly.

“I’ll let you eat before you have to run off,” Levi said, taking a step back. “You know where I am if you need anything.”

With that, he left the teenagers to eat their lunch in peace, continuing to wipe down other tables and neatly fold the chairs under them. The trio chatted quietly about some teenage school nonsense, and Levi had never felt so old in his life.

“Thank you for the food, Levi!” Armin called as he heard them get up, gathering their bags and coats. Mikasa stacked the plates so he could gather them easier, well enough that Levi wondered if she had gotten a part time job as a waitress or something, neatly stacking them all together. The money for the food, plus some for a generous tip, was slid under the dishes like they were a paperweight.

Levi waved half-heartedly. “Have fun studying,” he said sarcastically, but nodded and watched them out before slipping the money out and sorting it out, and then taking the dishes into the kitchen, where he let them soak for a while and then cleaned them thoroughly.

The afternoon was rather uneventful. Customers trickled in and out and he made light conversation with them. Later, Ezra came down to kiss his cheek and say he was going to get groceries, which they actually rather needed to stock back up on, and Levi busied himself with keeping his bakery clean and pleasant.

He was just sweeping the remaining crumbs around one table away when the door chime sang as more people entered.

“Here I thought you had closed down already!”

Even if he hadn’t spoken to them a lot, he doubted he’d be able to forget her shrill voice.

“Again, it was only one day,” Levi said, looking up at the entering teachers. Hange was bouncing inside, taking her jacket off and draping it over the back of one of the chairs and Erwin was trailing after her, setting his bag down next to an empty chair and then doing the same. Today, however, they were joined by another man whom he recognised; somehow taller than Erwin, the giant that was Mike who had been one of his first customers.

“I’ve already been abandoned by one bakery, I couldn’t handle the betrayal of another!” She declared dramatically, and Levi rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t aware you were a drama teacher,” he commented, gathering the last few crumbs and then standing up. After disposing of the crumbs he stepped to the side of their table. He heard Mike comment something about that under his breath, agreeing that she was wasting her potential by not being a drama teacher.

“What can I get you?” He asked, ignoring the way Hange eyed the new, delicate flower decorating the table.

“What does the chef recommend today?” Erwin asked, finally looking up from sorting himself out and to Levi. His eyes flew to his neck and both of the men blushed, but didn’t address it. Levi cursed Ezra’s love of sharing their private relationship so.

“I have got a couple of things,” Levi hummed thoughtfully, mentally going over the pastries currently sitting in the kitchen. “Coffee too?” He assumed, and the tired teachers nodded as if it was dumb to even ask that question.

Levi drifted back into his kitchen, taking three clean plates and dotting them with the fresh pastries. Then he made the coffees for them, and he balanced them on a tray and brought them out.

The trio of teachers were gossiping about their school day, Erwin complaining about a group of hectic teenagers in one of his second year classes.

“And that’s why I don’t work with kids,” Levi stated, setting the coffees out on the table and then placing the pastries in front of them.

“Imagawayaki,” he introduced, “kind of like your… pancakes, I guess,” he shrugged. They were colourful little pastries, pancake-like in texture with a fruity jam holding the two halves together.

Before the raven could duck back to the solitude of his kitchen, Hange reached out to grab his wrist, shockingly fast that he jumped slightly.

“Not so fast,” she tsk-ed, “tell us about your day! Pull out a chair, how’s it going?” She asked, nudging the last empty chair at the table out with her foot, and Levi raised a thin eyebrow.

“You’re so determined to keep me from working,” Levi uttered, but with no other customers currently in the bakery, he slid into the waiting chair after a moments hesitation.

Nonetheless, though, he was quickly dragged into their rapid conversation. Quickly Levi learned that Euan from chemistry class was apparently a bitch and that Ymir in PE was bullying people for making comments about some other girl, Historia. It was rather amusing, to say the least, even if he didn’t know who any of these people were.

“But hey, you get to sit around and bake all day. If that’s not living the ideal life, I don’t know what is,” Hange commented around a mouthful of imagawayaki, and it made Levi cringe.

“And your watch probably costs the amount of my apartment,” he stated, jabbing a finger at the golden watch decorating Erwin’s wrist. Levi didn’t necessarily want the money and luxuries the teachers could afford working at such an esteemed private school – he was happy enough with the comfort he and Ezra could afford without having to work endless days.

“It’s what I deserve after dealing with teenagers that don’t want to move seats and think it’s acceptable to put me on their Instagram stories, and whatever,” Erwin countered, raising a bushy eyebrow. He reached for his coffee, blowing across the steaming surface before taking another sip of it.

“Hey, I have to deal with your teenagers too,” he said, “at lunch all the time. Usually they’re not brats, though,” he added, shrugging softly.

“Seniors,” Hange said, and the other two men nodded in agreement.

“Seniors, definitely.”

“How do you make food like this?” Hange asked, pastry perched between her fingers and hovering in front of her mouth. “Seriously. It’s beautiful. Heaven on a plate. It’s inhuman, the skill you have.”

Levi snorted, though he secretly enjoyed the praise for his skills. “Practice,” he replied.

“Oh! Are you still up for this weekend, by the way?” She suddenly asked, perking up as she remembered it.

“As far as I know,” Levi muttered, glancing to his hands folding on his lap and half-heartedly shrugging. “No changes.”

“Fantastic! We’ll you show what it’s like to hang with the cool kids,” she promised, and Levi rolled his eyes.

“I have the feeling you’re going to be drunk before we even start,” he mused, and the woman’s cheeks flushed lightly, only confirming his thoughts that she was all talk and no bite in response to apparently being able to drink him under the table.

“Is that a dare?” She said, trying to save face, and Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Only if you’re paying.”

Hange barked a laugh at that, slapping his shoulder unnecessarily. “I like that,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “A clever man.”

The door swung open, chime singing loudly, and Levi watched as a familiar blonde walked in.

Levi sat up as Ezra walked in, carrying multiple grocery bags, and instinctively he stood up, reaching out to take some of the bags.

“Hey, no, I’ve got it,” he said, moving the bags out of reach and then jerking his head towards the table, “go talk to your friends. Oh, and sorry, I picked up the wrong wallet so I had to use yours, but I’ll pay you back babe,” he said, finishing the sentence with a kiss on his cheek.

Levi waved a hand dismissively, reluctantly stepping back to let him go with the groceries. “It’s fine,” he said, offering a smile before drifting back to the teachers while Ezra let himself into their apartment.

“A man that does the shopping for you, too?” Hange commented, puffing out her cheeks. “Where can I find one?”

Levi snorted, crossing one leg over the other. Thankfully their conversation came back quickly with no other comments about his boyfriend or their relationship. A while later, Ezra came back downstairs and pulled a table up. It wasn’t surprising how easily he slid into the conversation. Ezra was always charismatic, always friendly and lovable. It was nice to see, though it would be a lie if Levi said he had never been jealous of it. His cold exterior didn’t often help in the process of making friends, and he was never very good at holding a conversation or making people comfortable.

Ezra, though, had a silver tongue, slick as butter and molten gold, evident in the way he made Mike laugh until his stomach hurt, made Erwin’s cheeks hurt and made Hange go on the verge of an asthma attack from laughing so hard.

It was almost hard to watch each time Levi had to service another customer, dipping in and out of their conversation.

The musician gestured out for him to come and sit back down, and with no other customers to tend to, Levi wandered back over from wiping a desk down and slid into the empty chair for him.

“I’m excited for this weekend,” Ezra hummed, and Levi tipped his head in agreement.

“It’ll be great!” Hange enthused, leaning back in her chair and clasping her hands together. “There’s this bar downtown that we’ve been to, you’ll love it.”

“I’m not sure whether I should be excited or scared,” Levi snorted. Ezra’s hand was warm on his knee, fingers drawing patterns on his leg.

“I want to thank you for inviting us with you,” Ezra said, flashing a bright smile at the teachers who gestured in a vague, dismissive way.

“Nonsense. You both seem nice, why not get out and see around the place, meet some people. It’ll be fun. Ignore what Hange says. Oh.” Erwin dug into his bag, pulling out a pen and a scrap of paper and quickly wrote something down on it.

“There’s Hange and I’s phone numbers. Text us whatever time’s good for you and we’ll send the address.”

Ezra had taken the paper before Levi could even look at it and his stomach twisted with guilt. He dropped his gaze for a moment, forcing a smile. Ezra’s fingers squeezed his thigh.

“Will do,” he said with a grin.

“As much as I love this place, it seems it’s past closing time and I really ought to run.”

“Ah shit, he’s right,” Hange exclaimed after glancing at her watch. Levi, too, was shocked to notice the time and they all seemed to stand simultaneously, teachers pulling their jackets on and grabbing their bags, digging into their wallets and handing over their money for the food and tips.

“Sorry to keep you in for so long,” Levi said, pushing the chairs under the table and stacking the dishes, “I didn’t realise the time.”

The teachers shrugged it off with a wave and a smile. “Don’t worry about it. Don’t forget to text,” Erwin said, flashing a warm smile back to Levi and tipping his head. Levi returned the smile politely, trying to be quiet as he stacked the dishes with Ezra’s help.

“We’ll see y’all soon. Have a good night now,” Ezra said, and Hange gave them all a large wave while Mike bobbed his head in a gentle nod before the trio hopped outside. Mike even did them the favour of flipping their ‘open’ sign.

“Don’t spend too much time down here,” Ezra said, hand running over Levi’s back. “I want to get my own time with you for once.” Though he flashed a seductive grin, there was an undertone to it that made Levi’s stomach bubble.

“I’ll be up soon,” he promised. Ezra squeezed his shoulder and left.

Levi stood in the middle of his bakery and felt oddly bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed reading, feel free to leave a comment or a kudos, I love hearing all your feedback and it motivates me to write more!
> 
> Though again I will say updates will most likely be rather slow with school and studying, because I really need to prioritize that, but I thank you for your patience!  
> If you want to reach me more personally, my Tumblr is @killerrs-queen


End file.
